Erica Hawley is getting her season off the ground with a long-distance triathlon when she competes at the Ironman 70.3 Dallas Little Elm in Texas on Sunday.

Hawley is having a second crack at the gruelling race, consisting of a 1.9-kilometre swim on Lake Lewisville, a 90km bike ride around the rolling course heading north of Little Elm on rural, two-lane roads, before taking on the 21.1km run to finish things off at Little Elm Park.

The Bermudian has been training with Canadian Amelie Kretz, who finished second at La Quinta, California, where Hawley made her Ironman debut in December. She is using the race on Sunday to prepare for the Americas Triathlon Cup Gulfport, in Mississippi, on March 27.

“Just like that it’s race week,” Hawley posted on Instagram.

“The start of the season always pops up sooner than expected, but I’m excited to give the 70.3 distance another go. Winter in Boulder has been pretty tolerable this year, so luckily been able to train outside for most of this build, let’s see what’s possible.”

In her maiden appearance in the extended triathlon distance, Hawley finished eighth. She competed in the professional female division and completed the swim in 26min 2sec, bike leg in 2:21:26 and the run in 1:24:59 for an overall time of 4:17:32.